


Brittle Bones

by NullLit



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Alcina Dimitrescu/OFC, Anxiety Attacks, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Buckle up kids, Canon-Typical Violence, Dead People, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Graphic Description of Corpses, Horror, Human/Vampire Relationship, Kidnapping, Lady Dimitrescu/OC, Mild Smut, Minor Character Death, Non-Consensual Blood Drinking, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Consensual Kissing, Non-Consensual Touching, OC has some Issues, OC is stressed for good reasons, Original Character(s), Original Plot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, Setting Zombies on Fire, So its balance, Vampire Bites, Vampires, Virginity Kink, Werewolves, Zombies, because OC is a medical examiner, but so does Alcina, its all downhill from there, later maybe - Freeform, lots of blood, my obsession knows no bounds, not beta read we suffer together, scared shitless human meets horny hot vampire queen, this is hyper-fixations at its finest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-22 04:07:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30032796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NullLit/pseuds/NullLit
Summary: The snow is melting to reveal everything we lost over the long winter. Gloves, coins, keys, snow shovels, and bones. So many bones.Cleo Smith is just trying to survive in a city that seems to be doomed to a downward spiral. For some people survival is trying not to catch the attention of a literal undead family, for others survival is just working a 9-5 to pay rent.Guess which kind of people Cleo is.(OR, the author is still obsessed with Tall Hot Vampire Lady and basically just makes a whole book based off it with original plots and shit. RE: AU...Sorry, but not really.)
Relationships: Daniela (Resident Evil) & Original Female Character(s), Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 123





	1. oxygen is unfamiliar to these screaming lungs

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Modern day minor twilight like twist on the D family. Yes I already KNOW the game is set in modern times but think of the village more so as a city and the castle more like...the Volturi, but thats pretty much where similarities end. They have a guard, they get people in with a tourist trap. It works. I'm not sorry. 
> 
> basically, im taking the basics from the demo and just making up my own shits. 
> 
> ALSO, i'm still writing Unbecoming, I just have like 10 Lady D fanfic ideas and have been slowly writing them all.

She had just finished making a peanut butter and honey sandwich, fully immersed in a forensic files episode, when Cleo got the call.   
  
"We've got a body, off trail at Elm park." Sheriff Winters sounded tired, which was fair given the fact that it was four in the morning. She was awfully tempted to tell him where he could shove his gun, but if they were calling her instead of the on call examiner there was really only one reason. So, the woman threw on some jeans and a jacket over her T-Shirt and headed out.   
  
She lived pretty close to Elm park, so it didn't take more than five minutes to actually get there. The roar of her trucks engine echoed loudly in the dark of the night before cutting off, followed by the hollow sound of a Bang energy drink clattering to the pavement as she jumped down. The sound of empty tin upon asphalt was loud, scrapping even louder as she kicked it under her truck with a touch of aggression.   
  
She unloaded her bag and slung the camera around her neck before starting down the trail, snow crunching beneath her boots. Ethan was waiting a few yards away, a half smoked cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth as he gazed up at the starlit sky.   
  
"Don't you have a brat now?" She squinted at the man as she approached, tone friendly despite the judgmental quality to her words. "You need to stop smoking that shit."   
  
He chuckled, taking a long drag from his glorified cancer stick before waving his free hand to the left of the trail.   
  
"Bodies back there, try not to take all night, it's fucking freezing out here." Cleo and Ethan had never really gotten along, she wasn't sure if him calling her was just pure pettiness or if her suspicions were true.   
  
_Always listen to your gut._ She was rarely wrong, unfortunately.   
  
The body was _old_ , which she'd kind of been expecting. They didn't usually give the newbs cases like these, not everyone could handle a rotted corpse with the grace Cleo managed and even that only came with practice and a lot of mental preparation.   
  
She set up the tripod for the portable light before clicking the voice recorder on, turning towards the body with her camera raised and face carefully blank.   
  
"Approximately deceased for two to three weeks, the cold weather has impacted the rate of decay and delayed bloating." Though the body was certainly starting to bloat now that the temperature had dropped some and it had started to thaw. The smell was grotesque but nothing compared to the body farm she had to visit when she was in school. "Female, late teens or early twenties."   
  
The camera flashed with everything picture she took, Cleo began to map out the crime scene step by step.   
  
"Appears body was dropped here after death, any prints covered by snow fall." Her camera clicked a few more times as she crouched closer to the deceased, thankful for the mask that filtered out some of the sickeningly sweet smell of rot. She was dressed in her night clothes, meaning she was likely taken from her home. That may be the actual murder scene, more likely that the body was deposited here after the fact.   
  
There was a gap in the girls chest cavity, vital organs missing from where her ribcage had been brutally split open. It was hard to determine the cause of death, because there was also a chunk of her throat missing. Two more clicks.   
  
"Possibly wildlife activity, neither wound is fresh though." Not to mention she'd never seen an animal that could pry apart someone chest like this, ribs splintered and sticking straight up into the air, and most animals were still hibernating.   
  
The woman stood up again, stepping away from the body and turning towards the tree line instead. It was a real shame, she was only a few years younger than Cleo was.   
  
It was by pure chance that she spotted the bloody hand print upon one of the trees.   
  
She hesitated to call for Ethan, head tilted to the side ever so slightly. The handprint was bigger than the girls hand was, and if she shined her flashlight into the tree-line there were more prints leading further into the woods.   
  
She clicked off the voice recorder, moving closer to the print to take a picture of it before squinting at the surrounding darkness.   
  
"Don't do it," She whispered to herself, grappling with the daunting desire to go investigate alone. "Don't become to target demographic of a horror movie victim."   
  
Tempting, but not tempting enough to get her own throat ripped out.   
  
"Hey, Ethan." She called back up to the Sheriff, turning away from the woods. "There a trail here you need to check out."   
  
Silence.   
  
Cleo frowned, stomach twisting uncomfortably. Something wasn't right, she just couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was, though the cop not answering her call was definitely a red flag. With a huff, the woman turned to head back towards where she'd left him. She left all her equipment there, hoping he was just taking a piss and missed her shout but-   
  
There was movement to her left just as she passed the body, her limbs automatically locking as she sucked in a sharp breath.   
  
Did what she thinks just happened actually happen?   
  
_No._ It wasn't possible. The world slowed down as she slowly turned, heart hammering so hard she could feel it in her throat.   
  
The corpse was sitting up, milky eyes set on where Cleo stood like a deer caught in headlights.   
  
_It's not possible._ She was holding her breath, lungs screaming for air as the dead bore down on her in silence. _Zombies aren't real, this must just be a bad dream._  
  
She knew in her hearts of hearts that this wasn't a bad dream though, her cheeks and nose hurt from the cold, fingers trembling around her grip on the camera. The flash followed the click, if she was going to die at least there would be photo evidence. 

The dead girl bellowed, stumbling to her feet with all the grace of a half frozen, rotting corpse. 

" _Ethan_!" Cleo's scream echoed into the night as she shot off in the direction he'd been, panic a booming war drum in her head. For a dead person, she was fucking fast as shit. Ice cold hands grabbed at the back of her coat, ripping her backwards with a strength she hadn't been expecting. Her head collided with something hard, vision dimming. She just had the slight presence of mind to raise both hands seconds before a weight fell onto her.   
  
The smell of rot was so strong Cleo fought back to urge to vomit as she held away the snarling corpse by the shoulders, trying to creates as much distance between her face and the snapping jaw that was trying to take a bite out of her face. Black, clotted, goopy blood oozed from the girls mouth and splattered against her cheek mixing with her tears.   
  
" _ **Ethan**_!!" Leo's voice was hoarse from screaming, a sob working it's way up her throat as she felt her arms begin to buckle under the weight. All the times she'd imagined her death, this had _never_ been on the list.   
  
_I don't want to die._ It was dumb, to realize something so dramatic while looking into deaths face. Yet here she was, grappling and mentally begging to whatever gods were listening to spare her, if only just this once. _Please, I don't want to get eaten._   
  
Three gun shots rang out, startlingly loud and then- silence.   
  
The girl above her dropped like a puppet without it's master, nothing more than dead weight upon a wheezing Cleo who screamed until her savior rushed forward to push the thing off of her. The woman scrambled away from the corpse until her back met a tree, uncaring for the blood that was sliding down the back of her neck from whatever cut had opened from her initial impact with the ground.   
  
Ethan was standing there, looking wide eyed and frantic as he gapped at the corpse before turning slowly to look at her as if he'd seen a ghost.   
  
"What the fuck took you so long?" She sobbed, scrubbing at her cheek angrily with her sleeve to try and remove that sticky black blood from her skin. It only half worked, the substance smearing across her cheek and staining the fabric of her jacket.   
  
"I...I was taking a leak, fuck I'm so sorry Cleo." His arms were hanging uselessly at his sides, gun dangling from limp fingers. She opened her mouth to scream at him some more, or maybe cry.   
  
She turned around and puked instead. 

Peanut butter and honey were not the best combo the second time around, apparently.   
  
"Fuck, I need to call this in." He started to head toward his car but she scrambled after him, leaving everything behind except for her camera.   
  
"Fuck you if you think I'm staying here," She was screaming, hysterical and literally shaking in her boots. Ethan didn't say anything to her, just grabbed her by the arm and dragged her behind him as she staggered in the snow.   
  
One thing was very clear, neither of them got paid enough to deal with this shit.   
  


* * *

** The Next Night - 2AM  
  
**

"How exactly did _it_ end up here?" The woman's voice was tight, barely contained anger in every syllable uttered. There was a pause as someone shifted in the snow, though they were all hidden under the blanket of nights darkness the woman that had spoken dwarfed both men.  
  
"We aren't sure, My Lady." One of the men finally spoke up, flinching at her sharp exhale.   
  
"Who turned _it_?" Her patience was running thin, conveyed by how she flexed gloved fingers slowly while she addressed the men.   
  
"...We aren't sure, My Lady." He said again, an edge to his own tone. He knew he was treading dangerous ground.   
  
"What _do_ you know?" She snarled the words slowly, rage making golden eyes seem positively molten in the darkness as she pinned both men down with her gaze alone. The chill in the air seemed to worsen with her ire, and this time it was the other man that spoke up.   
  
"There were only two witnesses, Sheriff Winters killed it." That was actually pretty much all they knew, which was embarrassing given the undead girl had been in their halls mere weeks before this, just another meal passing through. Someone had turned her though, and then planted her to be discovered.   
  
"And the other witness?" The woman turned away from them, wandering towards were a decent sized rock was poking out of the snow. There was dried blood on it, fresh.   
  
"Just some medical examiner, we've been able to gather that she was not bitten in the attack but..." Hesitance made honey eyes snap back towards the man, head tilted in a manner similar to how a lioness gazes at something before attacking. He swallowed hard, throat bobbing.   
  
"You know I loath waiting, spit it out before I lose my patience." It was very clear she had already lost her patience, this was just mercy.   
  
"She took pictures." Poor little human didn't even realize doing something as mundane as her _job_ would seal her fate.   
  
Alcina Dimitrescu breathed in slowly, eyes dragging back down toward that crimson soaked rock, the trail of blood leading away from where the girl had fought so desperately for her life. The blood was aged by a day, but she could still smell her.   
  
Such a sweet scent, it made her throat burn. A virgin, whoever laid the trap knew what they were doing.   
  
_But why?_ Were they targeting the little human, or perhaps the Sheriff? What a fun little mystery.   
  
Alcina spoke after a long pause, red painted lips curling into a soft smile.   
  
_"Bring her to me."_


	2. welcome to your new home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a sign on the door, it read; Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phew, this is the biggest chapter ive done in awhile. a little over 3k words. I hope yall enjoy! apologies for any errors, we're not beta read bbs. 
> 
> thank you for all the sweet words! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! more of the plot will make sense later <3

Apparently almost getting eaten on the job isn’t good for your mental health. Who would have thought? Not Cleo, because she’d never had to deal with a fucking zombie before.

The woman took in a slow breath as she dragged a hand through damp curls, wincing as her finger nail caught on the forming scab at the back of her head. She’d dealt with a concussion for the first few days after the incident, taking two weeks worth of sick leave so she could hole up in her apartment to reevaluate life.

Her skin had been rubbed red in the shower, and then raw because she couldn’t stop scrubbing even after all the blood and carnage was gone. She’d showered obsessively every day following the incident, keeping her apartment sweltering hot in the vague hope that it wouldn’t trigger any panic attacks.

She didn’t go outside, barely slept. It would suffice to say she was not coping well after coming face to face with a living corpse who was set on taking a bite out of her.

Currently, the redhead was sprawled across her couch in her most comfortable pair of spandex shorts and a tank top to tolerate the heat. The TV was playing in the background, the news channel muted once there was no mention of a zombie uprising. Her eyes were set on the window though, hazy from sleep as she watched snow fall and stick to the glass panel.   
  
The world wasn’t ending, but she sure as hell felt like hers was. How do does someone deal with looking a literal fucking zombie in the eyes and then just…go on living? This wasn’t The Walking Dead, she wasn’t some badass protagonist setting monsters on fire to save her loved ones. Fuck, she didn’t even have loved ones at this point.   
  
How do you go on living the same life after it’s very foundations are shaken so badly you feel as if it’s all caving in on you.  
  
She hadn’t found the answer to that yet, but she had another week of sick leave so by next Monday maybe she wouldn’t feel so much like a newborn with Shaken Baby Syndrome.

The door bell ringing put a stop to her inner monolog pity party.   
  
With a soft groan, Cleo dragged herself up and to the door, peaking through the peep hole before stepping back with a frown. She didn’t order pizza, so why the hell was there a Dominos delivery boy outside her apartment?   
  
Well aware that she looked like some superstisos loon, the woman cracked open her front door slowly to peak out at the boy with barely contained suspicion.

“You have the wrong apartment,” She shivered at the cold air that seeped in from her front door, frowning as her chest tightened uncomfortably. She would have to figure out how to go out into the cold without having a full blown panic attack sooner rather than later. “I didn’t order anything.”   
  
The boy shuffled anxiously, lifting the boxed pizza with a frown of his own.   
  
“Apartment 303, Cleo Smith? This was ordered by the police department for you.” He tried to shove the box into her hands, the receipt stapled to the top. “There’s a note on it, but I have to leave it. They already paid.”   
  
She took the box on reflex because he all but threw it at her before backing up. If Ethan sent this for her why the fuck was the kid acting so weird.   
  
“Um, okay. Did they tip?” She’d feel pretty shitty if they didn’t tip and the kid had to walk up three stories to deliver the pizza. He didn’t answer though, just turning around and walking away quickly.   
  
“Nice talk,” Sarcasm dripped from her tone and she stepped back into her apartment, kicking the door shut before moving to set the pizza on the table. There wasn’t any notes on the outside of the box so she pulled it open, snorting to herself as she eyed the large cheese and pepperoni pizza. The words ‘I’m Sorry’ were spelled out with the pepperoni.   
  
“That’s a shitty cheese to pepperoni ratio, Ethan.” She sighed, grabbing a slice and moving into the kitchen to grab a plate.   
  
Cleo didn’t realize she forgot to lock her door, she didn’t even hear it open and notice anyone walk in.   
  
Not until it was too late.   
  
A needle slid into the crook of her neck, plate shattering as it fell to the ground, followed by the wet splat of pizza falling cheese side down. She staggered, one hand rising to slap over her neck before spinning around. She barely caught sight of some massive man standing behind her before she was being grabbed by someone else, lifted around the waist just as a scream burst from her lungs.   
  
One of his hands slapped harshly over her mouth and Cleo kicked out at the man in front of her, satisfied when his nose crunched under her bare foot.   
  
“Fuck,” The man grunted, using his sleeve to stop any blood from falling. They were supposed to follow strict rules for collecting the girl, and leaving evidence at the crime scene was very much so on the Do Not Do list.   
  
She grunted as her world began to spin, whatever they’d injected her with working through her system quickly. Cleo jerked her chin up, moving her jaw so she could clamp down on the mans hand with her teeth, satisfied when he gave a shout of pain and let her go. The girl dropped to the ground, legs refusing to cooperate as she tried to crawl away. Shattered glass cut into her knees and palms, a little desperate sob breaking free as her vision began to dim.   
  
The last thing she remembered was grabbing a shard of glass and shoving it into one of the mens thighs. A boot clad foot connected with her stomach, back colliding painfully with the cabinets behind her, and then nothing.  
  


* * *

Alcina did not look impressed, golden gaze squinting at the two men as if she thought they were morons.   
  
“You’re telling me that this little human put up such a fight that you had to injure her?” She spoke slowly, most definitely as if they were morons. To be fair, her instructions had been painfully simple and yet the the girl that was presented to her was bloody and bruised and broken.   
  
“She bit me,” One of the men said, sounding a touch defensive. “And she broke Jeb’s nose before stabbing him.”

She scoffed, waving them away with an angry jerk of her hand.   
  
“You buffoons, look at her.” Each word was punctured with a snarl. “She’s the size of my hand. Get out, you’re both on cellar duty for a month.”   
  
The men had the audacity to look like kicked puppies as they shuffled out of the room, the door shutting softly behind them to avoid sparking her anger any further. The Countess turned towards where the girl had been placed upon her bed, red painted lips tipping downwards into a frown at the sight over blood and bruises marring pale skin.   
  
“Such a pretty human,” She murmured, moving closer to inspect the cuts on Cleo’s hands and knees before she went to fetch the first aid kit and a damp cloth. They were both counted lucky that Alcina had fed earlier, or she may have not been able to resist the sweet smell of the little maiden so conveniently laid out upon her bed, ripe for the taking.   
  
The woman spent a fair amount of time using tweezers to remove little shards of glass before wiping her skin clean and placing bandages over the wounds, cleaning up the dried blood from the corners of the girls mouth with a chuckle. The little hellion had bitten him after all.   
  
The solution would begin wearing off soon enough, which means all she had to do was wait for the little human to wake up. But, something wasn’t quite right. Alcina leaned over the girl until her nose skimmed along her delicate throat, inhaling deeply before slowly leaning back.   
  
“You naughty little thing, not taking care of yourself.” She hummed softly to herself, long fingers dragging through red curls until she found the scab at the base of her skull. She could feel heat protruding from around the injury, an infection threatening to set in.   
  
Alcina maneuvered the girl until she was sitting up, half dripped across her own body so she could part her hair and begin the slow process of cleaning the older injury. She likely needed antibiotics to combat-   
  
Thins arms slid around the woman’s waist, breath catching in her throat as she paused to look down at Cleo. The redhead was still very much so asleep, but it seemed she was beginning the process of slowly waking as she mumbled incoherent things into the side of Alcina’s breast as she pressed her face closer and clung to the woman.   
  
“Handsy, aren’t we?” She chuckled, pulling the girl away to lay her back flat on the bed. Her amusement quickly turned to concern as the girl began to cry once she out some distance between them, dainty hands blindly reaching out until they snagged on her dress and pulled weakly.  
  
The last time someone had clung to her so tenderly was when Daniela was ill years ago, her girls cuddled on occasion but for some reason this felt different. Most likely because the body trying to pull her atop it was not that of her children and rather of an attractive young woman who had the added appeal of smelling exquisite.

Alcina decided there was no harm in the end, moving so the girl could rest her head in her lap while running a hand through those pretty red curls. With her free hand she rang a small bell, signaling the need for a maid who appeared rather promptly at the door.   
  
“You called, My Lady?” There was a fine line between respect and fear, a line the Countess preferred all her human help to know intimately. The maids voice did not quiver as she addressed her Lady, but there was a fine set to the girls shoulders as she awaited a response.   
  
“Fetch a broth and some tea from the cook, she needs substance.” A simple enough request, and if the other human was bothered at all with how Alcina was cradling the unconscious girl she made no mention of it as she bowed and left the room as swiftly as she entered.   
  
Cleo sighed softly as she clung to the woman, pressing her face into the soft of her stomach and inhaling deeply while she slept.   
  
“I might just keep you if you’re not careful, little flame.” The woman purred pleasantly, enjoying the feeling of having someone so soft and warm willingly wrapped around her.  
  


* * *

Waking up was a slow affair, though Cleo couldn’t quite remember why it was taking her so long. Recently, anytime she fell asleep she usually bolted awake before she could even process it was a nightmare that roused her. This time though consciousness came back as slowly as dripping molasses on a winter day, head feeling foggy and limbs so heavy they refused to cooperate. She didn’t remember falling asleep, either.   
  
The sound of a door shutting softly made her eyes flutter open, a soft groan at the lighting made her instantly shut them once more and burrow further into her pillow. Only, she couldn’t remember ever own a pillow shaped quite like this.   
  
With eyes closed she patted along where she was holding onto the pillow, confusion making her head ache as she tried to puzzle out what it was she was squeezing.   
  
A soft, breathy exhale above her made the woman freeze.   
  
Pillows didn’t breathe.   
  
Green eyes snapped open, flinching at the wall of white that met her gaze.   
  
“By all means, don’t let me stop you.” The woman above Cleo purred, golden eyes heavy lidded. Everything came back at once, the men, her struggle, and now this.   
  
Cleo jolted away from the stranger, hands dropping her breasts (and oh my god she’d been squeezing her breasts) as she tried to scramble away. Whatever drug she’d been dosed with was still in full effect, because all she really managed was to let her arms flop uselessly to her sides before almost rolling off the woman and onto the floor.   
  
Strong arms halted any movement as she was dragged closer to the woman, breath coming in short gasps as panic began to squeeze a vice around her lungs. She didn’t realize she was hyperventilating, entire body shivering and shaking as thee abruptness of the panic attack until she was being lifted to be cradled more securely to the woman’s chest.   
  
“Hush now, little one.” The woman soothed, long fingers running comforting paths through her hair. “Focus on my breathing.”   
  
It took a few minutes for Cleo to be coherent enough to try and match the inhale and exhale of the other woman, but she was patient and soothing as she waited for her to calm down. She wiped away her tears with gloved fingers, humming a soft tune as she finally collected herself.   
  
“I feel weird,” Cleo finally spoke up, voice hoarse and weak as she tried to sit up on her own.   
  
“That would be the drugs, darling.” She said it so nonchalantly, in her gentle reassurances she’d almost forgotten that she was kidnapped and taken from her apartment.   
  
“None of that now,” The woman clucked her tongue, slipping away a tear before it could even fall very far. “I simply wanted to discuss the experience you endured the other night, my men don’t know the definition of self control.”

She sighed, long suffering and put upon as she effortlessly shifted Cleo to sit up in her arms before standing. The girl yelped, eyes going wide as she realized just how tall this strange woman was not that the ground was so far away. They moved towards the vanity by one of the massive windows in the room, a bowl of steaming soup and a cup of tea sat upon the surface. When she sat, she do so that Cleo’s back was to her front, one arm wrapped around her waist to keep her in place.   
  
“Imagine my surprise at you already being in such an ill state prior to their injuries, malnourished and ill.” Cleo shivered against the woman, reminded of her lack of appropriate attire in the chill of the room. Sure, she didn’t have the best eating habits but that didn’t mean she was actually malnourished, hell she had a little chub on her. It wasn’t like she worked out much.   
  
“I’m not sick,” The woman was cold too, unnaturally so, but sitting against her made the woman warmer which in turn returned warmth the Leo. It didn’t stop goosebumps from spreading across her bared legs and arms but it helped a little and she found herself leaning closer.   
  
“Your head injury was infected,” She sounded as if she was speaking to a child which was a little rude, sure she was operating slower because of the drugs but it wasn’t like she was a moron. “I sent off for some antibiotics for you, they should be here the next time you wake.”   
  
Cleo huffed, flexing her fingers and wiggling her toes. She felt kind of like how you feel when you take three Tylenol PMs, her legs and arms felt like they were almost asleep - tingly and uncooperative.   
  
“I don’t want to sleep anymore,” Okay, now she kind of sounded like a child but she was pretty sure not wanting to sleep for your kidnapper was reasonable enough. “I want to go home.”   
  
The woman didn’t respond, instead she used her free hand to scoop from of the broth onto the spoon before bringing it to Cleo’s lips. She was too surprised to really fight the fact that she was being spoon-fed by a stranger, so the perfectly hot broth graced her lips easily. She was surprised to suddenly find herself so hungry, the conversation lapsing as she gratefully took each spoonful until the bowl was empty.   
  
Cleo still felt a little hungry, but she was more satisfied now and more than happy to drink the tea the was offered next. It was a little bitter, she preferred her tea and coffee on the extreme sweet side.   
  
“Once I’ve deemed you in good enough health to leave my home I will personally return you to your dwellings.” She spoke matter of factly, setting aside the test cup and shifting the smaller woman so she was no cradled in her arms rather than sitting upon her lap.   
  
“In the meantime, let’s discuss what you experienced the other night at Elm Park.”  
  


* * *

The change in the little human was immediate at the mention of the incident, another panic attack rising up swiftly as the girls pretty emerald eyes went glassy and vacant. Alcina tried hard to pretend not to be surprised, but it had truly been so long since she was in the presence of a human and not inflicting harm or fear. Trying to comfort the girl was a challenge in of itself, if she couldn’t get her to calm down she’d have to call one of her daughters in and that would be horribly embarrassing.   
  
She moved them towards the bed, wrapping the shivering girl up in the sheets and withdrawing a small kit from the bedside table. She made sure Cleo didn’t see the vial or the needle before it pricked her neck, but it seemed to be a pointless precaution because she didn’t even flinch.   
  
It took a few more minutes, but the sedative seemed to do the trick as the girl went limp and blinked wearily up at her.   
  
“That ought to do the trick,” The Countess hummed, bursting air away from the girls face as she settled beside her on the massive bed. “How are you feeling now, my sweet?”   
  
The redhead tilted her head adorably, seeming to think real hard about the question before she offered a shy smile.   
  
“I’m floating,” The girl slurred, drawing a surprised laugh from the taller woman.   
  
“I may have given you too much, but can you talk about it now?” She kept a soothing hand on the girl, carefully coaxing the story out of her before she succumbed to the inevitable sleep.   
  
Unfortunately, the story gave her more questions than it answered. If she had been so close to the creature, why had it waited to attack? Not to mention, Alcina was the one to first design those beasts and she knew their strength. Even freezing and starving, it should have over powered the little human in seconds.   
  
Something wasn’t right, and she was beginning to wonder if this was less of a trap for the Sheriff or the sweet girl asleep beside her. Perhaps it was a trap for Alcina herself.   
  
She frowned, displeased at the idea of someone taking and twisting her own creations to attempt and lure her out. Whoever they were, they were a fool. She needed more answers though, and she needed to speak with Mother Miranda.   
  
Though, perhaps she could turn the tables and lure them out instead.   
  
Yes, she had the perfect bait after all.  
  
(The question remains, why was Cleo spared?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave some love if you liked the chapter!! your comments and kudos literally make my whole day.

**Author's Note:**

> So ummmm. Yeah. Hopefully ya'll like this? It's...different. I have chapter 2 pretty much done so!! pls leave some love to let me know if I should keep going with this one!


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